editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Martin Kaste is a correspondent on NPR's National desk. He covers law enforcement and privacy, as well as news from the Pacific Northwest.In addition to general assignment reporting in the U.S., Kaste has contributed to NPR News coverage of major world events, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the 2011 uprising in Libya.Kaste has reported on the government's warrant-less wiretapping practices as well as the data-collection and analysis that go on behind the scenes in social media and other new media. His privacy reporting was cited in the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 United States v. Jones ruling concerning GPS tracking.Before moving to the West Coast, Kaste spent five years as NPR's reporter in South America. He covered the drug wars in Colombia, the financial meltdown in Argentina, the rise of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and the fall of Haiti's president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Throughout this assignment, Kaste covered the overthrowNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Martin KasteThu, 03 Nov 2016 05:35:43 +0000Martin Kastehttp://kpcw.org
Martin KasteGun control has been a minor theme of this year's presidential election, as Hillary Clinton promises to close "loopholes" in the background checks for gun purchasers, and Donald Trump pledges "unwavering support" for the Second Amendment.The real battle over guns, though, has been waged at the state level this year — with a new emphasis on ballot initiatives.Washington is a prime example. Like many western states, it has a tradition of permissive gun laws; there's no minimum waiting period to buy a gun, and the state doesn't even require safety training for people who carry concealed firearms. In 2013, legislation to require criminal background checks for most gun sales died in the state House of Representatives. So in 2014, activists went around the legislature, putting background checks on the state ballot. It passed by a wide margin.This year, similar background check laws are on the ballot in Nevada and Maine; in California, there's a ballot measure to require background checks forGun Control Groups Aim Their Money At States — And The Ballothttp://kpcw.org/post/gun-control-groups-aim-their-money-states-and-ballot
43074 as http://kpcw.orgWed, 02 Nov 2016 21:43:00 +0000Gun Control Groups Aim Their Money At States — And The BallotMartin KasteCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.After New York Shooting, Police Say Officials Are Prejudging Copshttp://kpcw.org/post/after-new-york-shooting-police-say-officials-are-prejudging-cops
43001 as http://kpcw.orgTue, 01 Nov 2016 09:09:00 +0000After New York Shooting, Police Say Officials Are Prejudging CopsMartin KasteLaw enforcement is increasingly worried about losing access to powerful tools for searching social media because of changing attitudes at the social media companies that allow the searches.Earlier this week, Facebook and Twitter restricted the bulk data access to users' information for a company called Geofeedia, after the ACLU of Northern California published a report revealing that Geofeedia had suggested to police departments that they could use the service to track protests.Social media monitoring services such as Geofeedia rely on bulk data access to be able to search far larger volumes of social media posts, and more efficiently, than the average user. It's the kind of large-scale social media analysis that's mainly used by commercial clients, such as marketers, but which has also been sold to law enforcement agencies.The social media posts being scanned are public, but the ACLU's Nicole Ozer says the practice is still an invasion of privacy, because of the sheer scale."Many ofPolice Searches Of Social Media Face Privacy Pushbackhttp://kpcw.org/post/police-searches-social-media-face-privacy-pushback
42455 as http://kpcw.orgSat, 15 Oct 2016 14:00:00 +0000Police Searches Of Social Media Face Privacy PushbackMartin KasteCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.New Details Emerge On How Police Use Social Mediahttp://kpcw.org/post/new-details-emerge-how-police-use-social-media
42402 as http://kpcw.orgThu, 13 Oct 2016 20:34:00 +0000New Details Emerge On How Police Use Social MediaMartin KasteAmericans are seeing more homeless camps, especially on the West Coast. A number of cities there have declared emergencies over the problem, and as they struggle to find solutions, an angry debate has broken out about how much tolerance should be shown to illegal camps that crop up in public spaces.Earlier this month, that debate got a lot more urgent in Seattle, when a young homeless man who was camping along Interstate 5 was killed by a car that careened off the roadway. A couple of hours after the death, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray visited the site to view the wrecked tent and address what he calls the city's "homelessness crisis.""It is obvious that we cannot allow people to stay in places that are not safe for them," Murray said.The city has tried being more aggressive about clearing out illegal campsites, especially after five people were shot — and two of them killed — in a notorious camp called "the Jungle," back in January. But the city's "sweeps," as they were called, quickly ranSeattle Swings Between Hounding The Homeless And Leaving Them Alonehttp://kpcw.org/post/seattle-swings-between-hounding-homeless-and-leaving-them-alone
41948 as http://kpcw.orgThu, 29 Sep 2016 08:30:00 +0000Seattle Swings Between Hounding The Homeless And Leaving Them AloneMartin KasteThe shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old African-American man, by Charlotte, N.C., police is under investigation and the circumstances are very much in dispute, but when you listen to protesters, you hear that their frustration isn't about just this one case."I can't watch another black man getting shot on another Facebook page, another newscast. I can't keep watching it happen and nobody else doing nothing about it," says Shahidah Whiteside.A lot of people feel this sense of frustration, that two years after Ferguson, we're still seeing videos of questionable police shootings — like the aerial view of the shooting of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Okla., last Friday.But the truth is you really can't judge the pace of police reform based on videos or even media attention. You could direct the question to an expert, says David Klinger at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Does he think police have changed how they use deadly force?"Unfortunately, we don't know, and the reasonPolice Reform Is Happening, But It's Hard To Trackhttp://kpcw.org/post/police-reform-happening-its-hard-track
41808 as http://kpcw.orgThu, 22 Sep 2016 22:12:00 +0000Police Reform Is Happening, But It's Hard To TrackMartin KasteIn the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, many beloved public spaces were abruptly closed or had their access severely restricted. At the time, the public generally resigned itself to the new restrictions as a necessary evil in a time of war.Fifteen years later, the public has stopped noticing. In some cases, such as scenic overlooks at certain dams, the government spent millions on new roads and bridges to allow the public access from less risky positions. But in other places, the restrictions remain, and it's the public space itself that has faded from view.A good example of this is a scenic shoreline on Lake Washington in Seattle, that's home to an outdoor sculpture called A Sound Garden. It's a series of metal tubes and towers that whistle and moan in the wind. It used to be a popular destination for Seattleites; the sculpture inspired the name of the '90s grunge band Soundgarden.But the area is on land owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and access wasThanks To Sept. 11 Security 'Inertia,' Restrictions Still Shape Public Spaceshttp://kpcw.org/post/thanks-sept-11-security-inertia-restrictions-still-shape-public-spaces
41463 as http://kpcw.orgSun, 11 Sep 2016 21:06:00 +0000Thanks To Sept. 11 Security 'Inertia,' Restrictions Still Shape Public SpacesMartin KasteWhen should police be able to deactivate your social media account?The question is becoming more urgent, as people use real-time connections in the middle of critical incidents involving law enforcement.In the case of Korryn Gaines in Baltimore County, Md., earlier this month, police said that a suspect actively using a social media connection makes a standoff worse.Gaines posted videos to Instagram of the unfolding standoff with police, who were outside her apartment trying to get her to surrender. After an hours-long standoff, Gaines was shot and killed by Baltimore County police.Police said her social media activity was distracting her from negotiations, and some of her online followers were telling her not to give up. The police got Instagram's parent company, Facebook, to temporarily suspend her account.But activists say this threatens to censor a crucial electronic witness of encounters with police.'Fueled by video evidence'Sometimes, says police tactics expert Sid Heal, theGroups Worry About Impact Of Police Moves To Block Social Mediahttp://kpcw.org/post/groups-worry-about-impact-police-moves-block-social-media
41100 as http://kpcw.orgTue, 30 Aug 2016 09:02:00 +0000Groups Worry About Impact Of Police Moves To Block Social MediaMartin KasteThe recent targeted attacks on police in Dallas and Baton Rouge have law enforcement on edge. Some departments are telling officers to patrol in pairs when possible, and to be extra vigilant about possible ambush.Complicating matters is the question of how to interpret and react to the presence of a gun. With more Americans now exercising their legal right to carry firearms, police find themselves having to make rapid judgments about whether an armed citizen is a threat.While police are more sensitive to the presence of legal guns now, the dilemma isn't a new one. Gun rights groups started a push for more permissive laws in the 1990s, and most states now allow concealed carry, open carry or both.And police are divided: Chiefs tend to favor more gun control, while the younger rank and file tend to support gun rights.But even many rank-and-file cops want some limits. Steve Loomis is head of the biggest police union in Cleveland — he calls himself a "Second Amendment guy," but on Sunday Gun Carry Laws Can Complicate Police Interactionshttp://kpcw.org/post/open-carry-concealed-carry-gun-permits-add-police-nervousness
39691 as http://kpcw.orgTue, 19 Jul 2016 09:06:00 +0000 Gun Carry Laws Can Complicate Police InteractionsMartin KasteWhen you listen to the protesters, the message is clear: They think police are too quick to pull the trigger when faced with potential danger.The reality is that it's very difficult to tell whether this is something that's changing: The statistics on police use of force in the U.S. are too unreliable to say anything for certain.Still, Peter Kraska is among those who do think police have become quicker to use force. "From everything I can tell, even though, amazingly, we don't have good statistics on lethality by police, the problem certainly has gotten worse," says Kraska, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University's School of Justice Studies.Kraska specializes in the study of what he calls "police militarization." He calls it this in part because of what we've been seeing in videos lately — images of police shooting people who aren't clearly armed, or who have made a false move — but he also points to something else."One of the cultural changes that has gone along with what we callAre Police Being Taught To Pull The Trigger Too Fast?http://kpcw.org/post/are-police-being-taught-pull-trigger-too-fast
39587 as http://kpcw.orgFri, 15 Jul 2016 20:42:00 +0000Are Police Being Taught To Pull The Trigger Too Fast?Martin KasteInvestigators say a young African-American man named Micah Xavier Johnson was the sole attacker in Dallas Thursday night, when he shot 12 police officers, killing five. The attack came at the end of an otherwise peaceful march protesting police shootings.Speaking from Poland, where he'd been attending a NATO summit, President Obama rejected the idea that the attack was a sign of division in American society."Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it's in Dallas or anyplace else," Obama said. "That includes protestors."But other politicians say the attack is connected to the growing tide of activism over controversial shootings by police. Iowa Rep. Steve King tweeted, "#DallasPoliceShooting has roots in first of anti-white/cop events illuminated by Obama...Officer Crowley. There were others."That's a reference to Sgt. James Crowley, the Cambridge, Mass., policeman whose controversial arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.Ambush In Dallas Shakes The Movement For Police Reformhttp://kpcw.org/post/what-dallas-means-police-reform
39403 as http://kpcw.orgSat, 09 Jul 2016 21:28:00 +0000Ambush In Dallas Shakes The Movement For Police ReformMartin KasteCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.Dallas Protest Organizer Recounts The Event's Deadly Turnhttp://kpcw.org/post/dallas-protest-organizer-recounts-events-deadly-turn
39363 as http://kpcw.orgFri, 08 Jul 2016 16:11:00 +0000Dallas Protest Organizer Recounts The Event's Deadly TurnMartin KasteWhen cities settle cases of inappropriate or illegal force by police officers, they pay — a lot. Chicago alone has paid out more than half a billion dollars since 2004.Yet some advocates say all those payouts haven't had much of an effect on policing practices.In Minneapolis, longtime activist Michelle Gross says when cities pay damages, individual police officers often aren't held accountable, which means they're not likely to change their behavior. That's why she and a group calling itself the Committee for Professional Policing are now pushing a completely different approach."We are working to get a measure on the ballot that would require police officers to carry professional liability insurance," she says.Some officers already carry liability insurance, on a voluntary basis. Gross' group wants to make it a condition of employment in Minneapolis. Their proposal would have the city cover the cost of basic insurance, but any premium increases due to misconduct would be the officer'sTo Change Police Practices, A Push For Liability Insurance In Minneapolishttp://kpcw.org/post/change-police-practices-push-liability-insurance-minneapolis
39043 as http://kpcw.orgMon, 27 Jun 2016 23:12:00 +0000To Change Police Practices, A Push For Liability Insurance In MinneapolisMartin KasteThe horrific attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., has captured the nation's attention, but the great majority of homicides are not due to mass shootings.And in the last year or so, the murder rate has jumped in America's big cities."We are in the midst of a very abrupt, precipitous and large crime increase," says Richard Rosenfeld, a respected criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is the author of a study released Wednesday by the Justice Department examining reasons for the increase.Specifically, murder is spiking — in urban areas. Rosenfeld says last year in the country's 56 biggest cities, homicides jumped 17 percent."That's a far larger percentage increase than in nearly any other year we've seen over the last couple of decades," Rosenfeld says.When there's a spike in the numbers like that, criminologists look to see if it correlates with other trends — such as a surge in the illegal drug trade, or a wave of ex-convicts getting released from prison.WhileMurder Rate Spike Could Be 'Ferguson Effect,' DOJ Study Sayshttp://kpcw.org/post/murder-rate-spike-attributed-ferguson-effect-doj-study-says
38652 as http://kpcw.orgWed, 15 Jun 2016 08:42:00 +0000Murder Rate Spike Could Be 'Ferguson Effect,' DOJ Study SaysMartin KasteDuring the 2014 Ferguson protests, America woke up to a surprising fact: There are no good national numbers on police conduct. While the federal government collects reasonably accurate crime statistics, it doesn't know much about law enforcement patterns such as racial profiling and police use of force. It turned out even the government's most basic statistic — the number of people killed by police — was way off.The White House says it wants to change that with the Police Data Initiative. It's an outgrowth of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, whose final report called for greater data transparency as a means to build trust between police and communities. The Police Data Initiative encourages departments to anticipate the kind of numbers their communities want to see, and provide them, preferably in database format. As an example, the White House cites the online data portal on police shootings set up by the Dallas Police Department.But there's a caveat, here: This isCoaxing Police To Share Data On Officers' Conducthttp://kpcw.org/post/coaxing-police-share-data-officers-conduct
37088 as http://kpcw.orgFri, 22 Apr 2016 21:25:00 +0000Coaxing Police To Share Data On Officers' ConductMartin KasteWhy The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcamhttp://kpcw.org/post/why-fbi-director-puts-tape-over-his-webcam
36593 as http://kpcw.orgFri, 08 Apr 2016 20:57:00 +0000Why The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His WebcamMartin KasteWhy The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcamhttp://kpcw.org/post/why-fbi-director-puts-tape-over-his-webcam-0
36594 as http://kpcw.orgFri, 08 Apr 2016 20:57:00 +0000Why The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His WebcamMartin KasteFor all the talk in the last couple of years about reforming police, there are limits to what the government can do. But there may be another way, and it involves insurance companies.John Rappaport, an assistant law professor at the University of Chicago, says he spent years studying police reform before it dawned on him to ask a basic question: What were the insurance companies doing?"I just went on to Google and started searching and was just instantly amazed with the stuff I was finding," Rappaport says.It turned out insurers were trying to limit the liability of the police departments they cover."One of the first things I found was this pamphlet from Travelers Insurance about how to do a strip search, and I just thought people in my world have no idea that this stuff is out there and it's really fascinating," Rappaport says.It was fascinating to him, because it seemed to offer a solution to a fundamental problem when it comes to reform: police departments usually don't feel theWhen It Comes To Police Reform, Insurance Companies May Play A Rolehttp://kpcw.org/post/when-it-comes-police-reform-insurance-companies-may-play-role
36354 as http://kpcw.orgFri, 01 Apr 2016 09:01:00 +0000When It Comes To Police Reform, Insurance Companies May Play A RoleMartin KasteThe legal dispute over whether Apple should be forced to help the FBI hack into the iPhone used by one of the terrorists in San Bernardino is making headlines in the U.S.But it's just one skirmish in a broader global conflict: American tech companies are feeling similar pressure from law enforcement agencies around the world, and they say the lack of international legal standards is creating a crisis.Just this week, a similar dispute in Brazil resulted in the brief arrest of one of Facebook's Latin America executives. Facebook owns the messaging service WhatsApp, which encrypts its messages, something that often frustrates Brazilian law enforcement.In this case, a judge in the state of Sergipe wanted WhatsApp data linked to drug trafficking suspects. WhatsApp says the court is demanding information it simply doesn't possess.But even if it did have the data, it may have not been able to share. Frederico Meinberg Ceroy, a prosecutor in Brasilia who specializes in computer privacy, saysFor U.S. Tech Firms Abroad And Data In The Cloud, Whose Laws Apply? http://kpcw.org/post/us-tech-firms-abroad-and-data-cloud-whose-laws-apply
35406 as http://kpcw.orgThu, 03 Mar 2016 22:16:00 +0000For U.S. Tech Firms Abroad And Data In The Cloud, Whose Laws Apply? Martin KasteCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Lourdes Garcia-Navarro in for Scott Simon. Microsoft has announced it's taking Apple's side in that company's dispute with the FBI over whether it should be forced to hack an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Other big tech companies are also supporting Apple after some initial hesitation. NPR's Martin Kaste reports on why the American tech industry sees this as the right moment for a showdown with the U.S. government.MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: One thing's for sure - the legal dispute here is really complicated.ORIN KERR: Yeah, this case is like trying to find your way through a very thick fog.KASTE: Orin Kerr is a law professor at Georgetown who specializes in questions of technology and privacy. He says the most relevant precedent here is a case from the '70s called United States v. New York Telephone. That was another case of a company resisting a request forApple-FBI Fight Signals A Need For New Political Precedenthttp://kpcw.org/post/apple-fbi-fight-signals-need-new-political-precedent
35225 as http://kpcw.orgSat, 27 Feb 2016 12:54:00 +0000Apple-FBI Fight Signals A Need For New Political Precedent